“He’s reenacting the battle of Waterloo with his toy soldiers,” Oona said.

“Miniatures, Oona. Not toy soldiers. I’ve built the whole battlefield to scale and painted every one of the regiments in their correct uniforms. I even have tiny cannons that fire ball bearings. You must come up and see, if you have time. We’ve reached quite a dramatic part of the battle. A turning point. Napoleon thinks he has us, but he’s made a tactical error.”

And he waved a finger triumphantly. Oona reached across and poured coffee into exquisitely thin china cups. I wondered how those cups had survived in this household.

“If you are here for a few days, you’ll be able to see the glorious victory,” he said. “Are you planning to stay for a while?”

“The young lady will, I think,” Oona said.

“Jolly good show!” Dooley beamed at me. “Never say no to a pretty face.”

Oona gave him a warning frown and went on, “Darcy, on the other hand, thinks he needs to be with his father. You must help them, Dooley. You must put the battle of Waterloo aside and use your legal skills to prove Thaddy’s innocence.”

There was a flicker of alarm in Darcy’s eyes. He drained his coffee cup and stood up.

“I should be getting back to my father right away,” he said. “I’m afraid he’ll be pestered by newspaper reporters and he’ll say something stupid and harm his cause even further.”

“He’s at home?” Dooley asked. “Not locked up in a Dublin prison?”

“They released him on bail yesterday,” Darcy said. “We managed to sneak him home without anyone noticing.”

“And why haven’t the police provided a guard for him?” Oona demanded angrily.

“They are guarding the castle grounds, but they don’t seem concerned that he is unprotected and unguarded at the gamekeeper’s lodge. So I’m afraid I have a favor to ask. Do you have a vehicle of some sort that I could borrow? My father’s estate car is locked away in the garage at the castle and everything is potential evidence at the moment. But I may need to go into Dublin to see the police there and I’ll need to come and get Georgie, if she’s to stay here.”

“Well, of course, dear boy,” Dooley said. “There’s no reason he can’t have the Rolls, is there, Oona? We hardly ever use it. I don’t see well enough to drive anymore. Oona never could drive in a straight line. And Treadwell only goes into Kildare once in a while to do some shopping. We have most of what we need here. Quite self-sufficient, aren’t we, Oona?”

“Yes, we are, my dear. Quite self-sufficient. And quite content.”

They nodded to each other while the dogs stood around them, tails wagging. Darcy looked across at me and grinned. It felt wonderful.

Chapter 15

MONDAY, DECEMBER 3